PHY Layer Frame Receive Decision for Wireless Receiver Efficiency
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Solution Overview
Problem
Conventional wireless access points (WAPs) inefficiently operate due to receiving and processing unnecessary frames, leading to suboptimal performance and increased power consumption, as they lack the ability to differentiate intended frames at the physical layer before decoding.
Innovation Solution
Implementing methods and apparatuses that enable frame receive decisions at the physical layer of a receiver, utilizing information such as center frequency offset and channel state information to determine whether to continue receiving frames, thereby preventing unnecessary locking and forwarding frames only to the MAC layer when intended for the receiver.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Reliability
If the WAP receives and processes all frames at the MAC layer, then frame reception is complete and reliable, but power consumption increases and processing efficiency decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by performing frame destination determination at the PHY layer before the frame reaches the MAC layer. The receiver uses PHY layer information (such as receiver address fields in the PLCP header) to preliminarily identify whether the frame is intended for this receiver, and makes the decision to receive or discard the frame before consuming MAC layer processing resources, thus reducing power consumption while maintaining reception reliability for intended frames.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent segments the frame reception process into two stages: PHY layer processing for destination determination and MAC layer processing for actual data reception. By segmenting this function and making the decision at the PHY layer, the system avoids unnecessary MAC layer processing for unintended frames, reducing overall power consumption while ensuring reliable reception of frames destined for the receiver.
2Reliability
If the WAP processes all received frames, then complete frame processing is achieved, but processing time increases and throughput decreases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent implements preliminary action by determining frame destination at the PHY layer before MAC layer processing. This preliminary identification allows the receiver to discard unintended frames early, avoiding unnecessary MAC layer processing time and reducing overall processing delay, thereby improving throughput while maintaining complete processing of intended frames.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent extracts the destination determination function from the MAC layer and places it at the PHY layer. This extraction allows unintended frames to be removed from the processing pipeline earlier, reducing the total processing time for the receiver and improving throughput without compromising the complete processing of frames that are actually intended for the receiver.
3Reliability
If the WAP continuously monitors all channels, then no frame is missed, but power consumption increases
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies preliminary action by using PHY layer information to preliminarily determine frame destination before full frame reception. This allows the receiver to make an early decision about whether to continue receiving the frame, enabling power saving by entering sleep mode for unintended frames while maintaining reliability through accurate PHY layer destination identification.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent implements dynamics by allowing the receiver to dynamically adjust its operation state based on PHY layer frame analysis. The receiver can transition between active reception and sleep mode dynamically, optimizing power consumption while maintaining frame reception reliability through accurate destination determination at the PHY layer before state changes.
Data Source
AI summary
According to an example, a receiver having a physical (PHY) layer may receive a portion of a frame from a transmitter, in which the portion of the frame comprises information available at the PHY layer. A signature of the transmitter may be determined based upon the information available at the PHY layer and a hardware component in the PHY layer may determine whether to continue to receive the frame based upon the determined signature of the transmitter.